This week on the DWP we have a very special artist that I’m really lucky to have be a part of the project. Sol Lewitt was an American artist known for his minimal and conceptual work, creating both paintings and sculptures that are always amazing to see. But he was also an avid photographer and took a number of photographs of New York’s Lower East Side taken back in 1979. Morgans Hotel Group, along with Paula Cooper Gallery, are currently displaying 120 of the photos on the side of the Mondrian Soho in New York. Awesome for us, the folks at Morgans approached me about using some of the photos for a wallpaper, and of course I said yes.

It’s pretty fantastic to see the world of late 70’s New York through the eyes of such an artistic genius. As I was selecting images I couldn’t help but wonder what drove him to shoot some of these photos. Was it the colors? The naturally beautiful compositions of some haphazard posters, wheat pasted to a wall? Also, when I look at the layout of the photos, I can’t help but think of how much it looks like Instagram, only 30 years removed.

I hope you enjoy the wallpaper, and check back next week for a winter-y, adorable wallpaper.

When we traditionally think of a bridge, we imagine it spanning over the top of the water.The folks at RO&AD Architecten though have taken the concept and tweaked it a bit, instead putting the bridge in the water. Called The Moses Bridge, the bridge is made from Accoya wood, “a high technology wood that is supposedly harder and more durable than some of the best tropical woods. It is treated with a nontoxic anti-fungal coating.” The bridge actually leads to a 17th Century Dutch fort, and the water you’re seeing is a moat that surrounds the fort. All in all it’s a clever idea done rather well, so well in fact that they’re a finalist in the Dutch Design Awards.

Yesterday I was introduced to the work of Connor Willumsen, a Montreal based artist who’s making some of the most unique web comics I’ve ever seen. So far I’ve read two of his works, Everett and Explanation For Sator Stuff, both of which are extremely weird but brilliant. I highly suggest taking the time to read both of these, I had so much fun reading these, scrolling has never been so rewarding.

I think it’s a good time to reexamine the concept of Freedom of Speech. You know, that ballyhooed concept that the United States was founded on. And for all you illustrators / graphic designers / writers / photographers out there with a single political thought in your head, this would be a nice explanation. And if you have been at any of the Occupy rallies, you should know some of your simple rights. I’ll try to keep this as neutral and objective as I can.

1: You are entitled to a great right, one few countries give
The First Amendment affords you not only Freedom of Speech but Free Exercise of Religion, Freedom of Association, Freedom to Congregate, and Freedom to Lobby. Basically, outside the most vile and ugly words / images, you can do whatever you want. Famously, a young man wearing a “F**K the Draft” jacket in front of Los Angeles City Hall was protected by this right.

When it comes to protest, traditionally the government has held time / place / manner restrictions. Public parks (such as Zucchoni Park and City Hall Park) are common, accepted places for the assembly of citizens. While the government can’t express viewpoints in these public spaces, YOU can. It can be almost anything. I think this is why so much art in the streets takes place on publicly owned grounds – they are the perfect display for free expression.

2: Except when you aren’t
Ten years ago, the Patriot Act enabled all law enforcement agencies to search any document / conversation in your life in the name of defense. This includes voicemails, texts, doctors prescriptions and blog posts all the same. The FBI has already admitted to more than 1000 instancse of abuse involving the Act. If that’s not scary enough, last week the National Defense Authorization Act was overwhelmingly passed by the U.S. Senate. This Act allows the military to arrest U.S. citizens on U.S. soil and hold them in military prisons without the right to legal counsel or a trial.

That’s right. Your elected representative has chosen to pass an Act that could strip you of your Constitutional rights to freedom of speech, adequate representation, and a fair trial. Glenn Greenwald hit the nail on the head, pointing to the exact provision in the Constitution that gets overturned. Even in the height of the Cold War (read: the possible nuclear extinction of the human race), the government never found it mandatory to place such an invasive ordinance. Senator Joseph McCarthy never had the guts to do such a thing because, back then, it would be un-American. Apparently it takes some nutcases with dookie and lighter fluid to make the Congress want to arrest the very people who gave them a job: the American Citizen.

3: It isn’t getting any better – so use your voice responsibly
In the face of these two acts, both of which severely infringe on your Constitutional rights, it is a prudent time to be responsible with your protest. Any police action taken against the Occupy movement specifically opposing the content of the speech is an abuse of power. A trademark of the occupy movement has been not stating goals even though most of the protesters (the ones I know range from photographers to tax attorneys) have clear objectives. The First Amendment doesn’t say you need a defined reason anyways.

Last week I wrote about Lene Wille’s beautifully minimalist installation Metaphorical Horizons and since then I’ve had a number of Lego enthusiasts contacting me about work which they’ve made using the small plastic brick. One piece which really caught my attention was these incredibly detailed houses by Lego artist Mike Doyle. Mike’s sculptures are an incredible testament to both Lego, and his skill and patience. His largest and most recent construction Victorian on Mud Heap (above), uses nearly 130,000 pieces and took about 600 hours to complete.

With true dedication to the project Mike built these without using any foreign materials – there’s no wood, no glue, no paint in these – it’s just pure Lego. It’s a pretty amazing feat of design. Mike’s got a number of ‘making of’ shots on his blog which are worth checking out; I know my first reaction when seeing these were ‘no way, they can’t be real’ so it was wonderful to see some progress shots of them being made. Go check them out!

The company describes their new headquarters borrowing a phrase from the 2010 Venice Biennale, saying “people meet in architecture” and going on to say that their new headquarters is where “nature and technology meet.” Clearly, a lot of things are meeting in this building, and other than the usual office program, there’s also a quite visible climbing wall (not terribly surprising for a mountain gear company but still exceptionally well done– I think it looks a bit like an unbuilt Eisenman tower), a fitness center, a bistro and what has alternately been described as a kindergarten and nursery. Even if you think the rocky-looking mass of the project is a bit too obvious for a company that makes mountain climbing accoutrements, you have to admit that it looks like an incredible place to work.

Tom Wrigglesworth (what an amazing last name) and Mathieu Cuvelier are a UK duo who’ve caught my eye with their charming short film called La Mer de Pianos. The film showcases Marc Manceaux and his shop Fournitures Generales Pour le Piano, the oldest piano in Paris. Marc’s story is extremely interesting, his work and environment is quite unique, and honestly, a bit chaotic. They did a fantastic job capturing Marc’s story, hopefully they have more of these interesting insights lined up for 2012.

This new project from Emory Allen called An Exquisite Beast is a bit of genius. Taking the idea of exquisite corpse, an old French game where a number of people draw on the ends of another’s drawing, not getting to fully see what the image before was. Emory has taken it upon himself to create his own one man exquisite corpse, adding to the end every day, little by little. As of my writing this he’s on day 89, which is an achievement all on it’s own. I’m looking forward to seeing how long he can keep this up, and how exquisite this best can get.